Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Malice Domestic and the Festival of Mystery

I spent a
few days in mystery writers’ heaven last week.

First, I
attended Malice Domestic, an annual celebration of traditional mysteries in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. Writers and fans plus industry professionals
all gather together to learn more about who’s writing what and to meet and
network with one another. I had a great time there, including
participating on a panel called--what else?--Must Love Dogs!

From there,
I headed to Oakmont, PA,
outside Pittsburgh,
where I grew up, for the annual Festival of Mystery, which is timed to follow
Malice. It’s presented by the Mystery
Lovers Bookshop. Before the Festival, a
local library holds a delightful tea.
The Festival itself is delightfully crowded with mystery writers, and
lots of fans who talk with us and buy books galore!

I’d been
quite concerned before heading to the Festival of Mystery this year. The wonderful owners of the Mystery Lovers
Bookshop had publicly announced that they wanted to sell the store to have more
time for family and travel. In these
days of so many bookstores closing, I was afraid that boded the end for this
one, too. Not so! They found a perfect buyer with a background
as a librarian and bookseller, who was moving to the Pittsburgh area to be closer to family. She was at all of the events, including the
pizza party at the bookstore after the Festival, meeting people and learning
all about the Festival--which I hope she’ll continue in the future, too.

One of the
best things about both events, by the way, was being able to see some of my
blog sisters in person!

Now I’m
back home in L.A. Lots of catching up to do with my writing,
but the trip was definitely worth it.

What
writers’ or readers’ events are close to where you live--and which ones do you
travel to?

Depends on your definition of close. I go to Magna cum Murder in Muncie, Indiana. Been there most of the conventions. It means a drive from Minneapolis to Indianapolis, but that can be done in a day.

For the smaller definitions of close, Minneapolis is overflowing with science-fiction conventions. Those, too, are full of writers and readers, and the travel involved is more on the order of half an hour.

Linda, I told Laurie Miller Stephens, the new owner of Mystery Lovers Bookstore, that all of us authors just KNEW she was perfect for the job when we saw her red tights. Wasn't that so cute? Great to see you and your husband. http://plum-oakmont.patch.com/articles/new-owner-for-mystery-lovers-bookshop-chosen

I highly recommend Magna cum Murder. Great panels, great attendees, very well organized. Its commander in chief, Katherine Kennison, feeds us all day long! Locally, I've been going to the events put on by Once Upon A Crime in honor of an anthology they have published featuring authors who attend their annual Writes of Spring - another great event.